Alcohol hits emergency departments at peak-times

EMERGENCY medical experts have urged other states to follow Queensland and New South Wales' example of cutting alcohol service hours.

Their call follows an Australasian College for Emergency Medicine report showing up to one in eight peak-time emergency presentations may be alcohol-related, and one in 12 outside of peak hours but during the high-volume Christmas period.

The report studied eight EDs in Australia and New Zealand during one week in December last year.

Researcher Associate Professor Diana Egerton-Warburton said the volume of alcohol-affected patients was a bigger problem in EDs than ice users.